Popular Music Analysis

Kay Royo, Ibrahim Rizk, Aurian Saidi

Introduction

The role of music in our lives is significant, as it impacts our emotions, physical health, and social connections. It has the ability to elicit various emotions and moods, which can create a sense of connection within ourselves and with others. Depending on the type of music and our individual experiences, music can provide comfort, joy, or even sadness. Music also offers physical and psychological benefits, such as stress and anxiety reduction, blood pressure regulation, and cognitive function improvement. Whether we are passive listeners or actively involved in creating or performing music, it can enhance our lives in numerous ways.

The purpose of this study is to analyze popular music to investigate the songs that are widely consumed and appreciated across the globe. This study encompasses various methods that aim to comprehend the different components of present-day popular music. As the role of popular music in our society continues to evolve, popular music analysis has emerged as a crucial field of study over the past few decades. Through examining popular music, scholars and researchers can gain valuable insights into the cultural, social, and political factors that shape the music we listen to. Furthermore, by examining the musical styles, themes, and lyrics of popular music in different countries, we can acquire a better understanding of the values and beliefs of those cultures. The study seeks to address the following questions of interest.

  • Which attributes of a song have a relationship with a song’s popularity?

  • What is the prevailing sentiment or emotional tone of popular songs in various countries?

  • To what extent do music preferences align across different countries based on current trends?

Background

In recent years, the analysis of popular music in various countries has gained significance due to the ease of accessing and sharing music across borders facilitated by global communication and technology. This growing interest among scholars and researchers aims to explore the diverse musical traditions and practices of different countries while understanding the cultural, social, and political contexts in which popular music is created and consumed.

Research on popular music in different countries typically concentrates on the distinct musical styles, themes, and lyrics that reflect the cultural traditions and values of those societies. It may also investigate how music expresses social and political messages and promotes cultural and national identities. Additionally, analyses of popular music in different countries may examine how global musical trends and influences are adapted and transformed within local contexts, as well as how music is utilized to resist dominant cultural or political forces. In general, the study of popular music in different countries is a vibrant and diverse field that provides insights into the unique musical cultures and practices of different regions, and how music is utilized to express and shape social, cultural, and political identities.

I. Data Collection

Data_Collection

II. Data Preprocessing

Data_Processing

III. Exploratory Analysis & Classification

141B-Project

IV Clustering

clustering

V. Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment_Analysis

Summary

For this project, we held the initial belief that utilizing audio features to predict music popularity would yield insignificant outcomes owing to the unstructured nature of music and the subjective nature of human preferences. However, we were pleased to discover that our random forest algorithm exhibited a success rate of 84% in accurately identifying music as either popular or not popular, followed by decision tree with 77%, and finally logistic regression with 63%. The foremost audio features which were found to have a significant impact on the popularity of music were loudness, energy, and danceability. Conversely, acousticness and instrumentalness were found to be the most significant features for unpopular music. Music possessing high energy and danceability were correlated with an increase in popularity, while songs without electrical amplification and vocals were associated with a decline in popularity. This can be attributed to the fact that high-energy music with the potential to be danced to is more frequently desired in settings such as clubs, concerts, sporting events, and restaurants. On the other hand, instrumental music applications tend to have a more specific audience, which can contribute to a reduction in popularity.

After performing an agglomerative clustering of the data, we can conclude that there are several reasons that contribute to similarity in trending music taste. First, the geographic proximity of countries can result in shared cultural influences that manifest within popular music. Second, culture can also play a significant role in music preferences, as countries with similar cultural backgrounds might have a stronger affinity towards specific genres or artists. Finally, language has a powerful affect on music similarity that is supplemented by the previous geographical and cultural factors.

Based on the results obtained using different methods to analyze the most common sentiment or emotions, it can be concluded that the lyrics of popular songs generally convey a positive sentiment. There are several reasons why people tend to enjoy listening to songs with positive sentiment. Firstly, such songs can create a sense of happiness, joy, and optimism, which can be uplifting and improve one’s mood. This is particularly true when an individual is experiencing challenging situations or negative emotions. Secondly, positive songs often have catchy melodies and upbeat rhythms that can make them more enjoyable to listen to, and people may find themselves singing or humming along with them. Thirdly, songs with positive sentiments can provide a sense of hope and inspiration, motivating people to pursue their goals and dreams. Finally, positive songs may serve as a reminder of happy memories or experiences, allowing people to relive those moments through the music. Overall, listening to songs with positive sentiments can have a significant impact on an individual’s mood, outlook on life, and overall well-being. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that individuals across the globe would have a preference for songs that convey positive sentiments.

References

Spotify. (n.d.). Spotify Charts. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://charts.spotify.com/home

Spotify. (n.d.). Web API Reference. Spotify Developer. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://developer.spotify.com/documentation/web-api/reference/#/

Genius. (n.d.). Genius API Documentation. Genius. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://docs.genius.com/

Millr, J. (n.d.). LyricsGenius: a Python client for the Genius.com API. GitHub. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://github.com/johnwmillr/LyricsGenius

Mohammad, S. (n.d.). NRC Emotion Lexicon. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from http://saifmohammad.com/WebPages/NRC-Emotion-Lexicon.htm

Hutto, C.J. (2014). vaderSentiment. [Computer software]. Retrieved from https://github.com/cjhutto/vaderSentiment

TextBlob. (n.d.). TextBlob documentation. TextBlob. https://textblob.readthedocs.io/en/dev/

Appendix

Team Members and Responsibilities

Tasks Completed Kay Royo Ibrahim Rizk Aurian Saidi
Code Data Collection Clustering EDA & Classification
Data Preprocessing
Sentiment Analysis
Presentation Data Collection Clustering Intro
Data Preprocessing Summary EDA & Classification
Sentiment Analysis
Report Introduction Clustering EDA & Classification
Background Summary Summary
Data Collection
Data Preprocessing
Sentiment Analysis
Summary
References
Report Style